


Thea's Secret

by Anonanonanonana



Series: Vampires and Queens [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M, Vampire!Oliver, Vampire!Thea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:18:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5151758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonanonanonana/pseuds/Anonanonanonana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thea thinks she can keep her human boyfriend a secret from her vampire family, but it becomes more and more difficult as she falls in love. This is the story of the love interest hinted at in the final chapter of Love Bites.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trying to hide it

Thea quietly closed the front door of Queen mansion behind her. She would usually go to Oliver’s house and wash her clothes before coming home but since Felicity moved in with him he tended to stay in most evenings doing things his sister would rather not think about, so the younger Queen’s best bet was to hurry to her room and shower before anyone caught her. She stood in the foyer for a second taking in the sounds of what seemed to be a sleeping house. Releasing the breath she’d been holding since approaching the front steps she ran up the stairs. At the top of the landing she soundlessly made her way to her bedroom door and rushed inside, slamming the door in the process.

“Shit!” Thea cursed and ran for the bathroom. She had to cover the human smell she tracked in quickly just in case someone came looking for her. She turned on the water in the shower and quickly stepped under the cold spray without undressing. She groaned as Roy’s scent washed away. She hated not being able to keep it with her, but until she could get up the courage to tell her family about him she didn’t want them knowing how she spent her evenings.

She turned the water temperature up and stripped off her wet clothes, taking her time to wash away the last remnants of the man she couldn’t wait to get back to tomorrow.

After Thea finished her shower she wrung out her now soap-smelling clothes and took them to the laundry room before getting a late night snack. Voices greeted her in the downstairs hallway. She furrowed her brow, not expecting anyone else to be up and quietly set the washing machine before making her way to the kitchen.

“Mom, maybe Felicity doesn’t want something this big.” Her brother’s voice cracked and Thea smiled. It always did that when their mother had him worked up about something.

“Oliver, sweetheart, she agreed to let me do what I think is best. And I do think this is best.” Moira’s tone was final, but Oliver continued.

“Mom, please, just hear me out. She’s been through a lot, and I don’t think…”

Their mother interrupted him just as Thea entered the kitchen. “And you don’t think what? That you can share her?” Moira raised an eyebrow at her exasperated son.

Oliver clenched his lips and tried to stare her down. “No. That’s not what I’m saying.”

Moira smiled and patted his cheek. “Good, then you won’t mind if I invite them.”

“Invite who?” Thea chimed in as she opened the fridge.

Moira’s smile broadened as she took in her daughter’s relaxed state. “The Dearden Aunts for Felicity’s coming out.”

Thea snorted. “Yeah, good luck, Ollie. Better propose now before they do it for you.”

Oliver pointed at his mother. “See, I’m not the only one who thinks they’ll do that.”

Moira waved him off and walked to the kitchen island to address her daughter. “You’ll be there as well I hope?”

Thea gave her a tight smile and nodded before biting her lip and shaking her head. “Sorry, Mom, but I think I have something booked that night. You know, work related…stuff.”

Moira’s face fell. “Thea, this is for Felicity!”

Thea made sure she conveyed seriousness as she attempted to deflect the invitation – evenings were her only time with Roy and she didn’t want to give it up to spend the evening with the vampire aunts trying to set her up. “I know, Mom, and I’ll apologize to her myself.”

Oliver squinted at his sister over their mother’s shoulder. It wasn’t like Thea to miss a party, especially with how close she and Felicity had gotten in the last couple months. And then it hit him, the strange smell he’d been catching around her. He cleared his throat and joined his mother by the island. “I’m sure Felicity will understand, Speedy. You can help her prep for what to expect to make it up to her.”

Oliver was rewarded with a glowing smile from his little sister that he couldn’t help but return.

Moira sighed in defeat and turned towards her son. “Tell Felicity to call me if she thinks of anything else. I’m going to bed, I have a lot of phone calls to make in the morning.”

Oliver grimaced, “Sure, Mom. Goodnight.” He kissed her cheek.

“Night, Mom.” Thea walked around the island to give Moira a hug and they both watched their mother leave the room, her robe fluttering behind her as she shuffled through the papers she’d been going over with her son.

“Sooo,” Thea turned her head towards her brother, bumping his shoulder with hers. “What the hell all do I have to warn Felicity about? Besides the Dearden Aunts of course.”

Oliver chuckled. “Oh my god, you have no idea.” He caught his sister’s gaze. “Mom’s going crazy. For real this time.”

Thea huffed out a laugh and went back to making her sandwich. “She is really excited about this party.”

Oliver’s smile broadened. “Sometimes I think she likes Felicity more than me.”

Thea smiled. “Ollie, everyone likes Felicity more than you.”

“Ha. Ha. Speedy.” Oliver straightened up, his tone turning serious. “But seriously, Mom is going all out and I don’t know if Felicity is really okay with that.”

Thea sighed. “She’s physically a part of this world now. She’ll be fine. You just make sure you’re there if she needs to take a breather.”

He gave her a small smile and nodded. “You’re awfully smart you know.”

“I know,” Thea said arrogantly.

Her brother cleared his throat. “Which is why it’s so surprising that you’re an awful liar.”

Her face fell and she quickly turned back to her sandwich, putting away the extra food as a distraction. “Hmm?”

“Work related stuff?”

“Uh huh.” Thea quickly grabbed a bottle of water and her sandwich and headed for the door. “Yeah that really sucks so I’ll call Felicity and work out a schedule for prepping her.”

Oliver quickly caught her elbow before she got down the hall. “Speedy? What’s the rush?”

Thea wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Oh nothing, just want to eat this and get to bed. Big day tomorrow.” She faked a yawn.

Oliver clenched his jaw to avoid laughing at her obvious deflection. “Okay, well goodnight then.” He kissed the crown of her head, inhaling and taking in fully what had been at the edge of his awareness for weeks. He pulled back without letting on that he knew and let her walk away.


	2. Failing at hiding it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor at the Queen mansion has Thea on edge.

“You are so lucky you don’t have to go!” Felicity said as she flopped backwards onto Thea’s bed.

The younger Queen laughed in response as the blonde bounced and attempted to steady herself before falling off the edge. “Have you started drinking already?”

Felicity’s embarrassed face peeked over the edge of the bed. “No!”

“Well.” Thea was still smiling broadly. “You might want to be buzzed before meeting the gauntlet tonight.”

Felicity sighed. “Oliver suggested the same thing. He joked about stopping for wine when he texted that he was on the way to pick up my dress.”

Thea’s phone buzzed. The color drained from her face as she saw who was calling. “Umm, Felicity, you should probably go home and get ready. And I uh…I have to get ready for work.”

Felicity eyed Thea curiously as she put on her shoes. “Everything okay?”

Thea gave her a half smile and nodded. “Yeah, just work stuff and I didn’t realize what time it was.” Her phone buzzed again and she quickly silenced it. “You’ve got your car, right? Cause I really need to jump in the shower.”

Felicity nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry. You go do what you need to do. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow. Let you know how the party went.”

As soon as her brother’s girlfriend closed the bedroom door Thea ran for the closet, texting Roy as she went. She forgot she had told him she’d meet him early today so she wouldn’t run into anyone arriving for the party and if the multiple phone calls were any indication she was already late. She grabbed her clothes and quickly took a shower. Her phone buzzed as she ran down the stairs but she wanted to get out of the mansion before taking the time to check it.

Looking around as she quickly crossed the foyer she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as she opened the front door. ‘Made it,’ she thought to herself, but her smile fell as she took in the person climbing the steps.

“Thea!”

“Roy?” Her voice was high pitched and breathy. “What? What are you doing here?”

Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t answering your phone and then you texted that you got held up so I figured I’d save you from coming all the way into the city. Didn’t you get my text?”

Thea laughed nervously. “I did not…because I didn’t check my phone…because I was…in such a hurry to see you.” She smiled as her heart thrummed in her chest.

Roy smiled. “So, you said there was something you wanted to tell me tonight? Did that involve going anywhere in particular?”

Thea bit her lip as her brain attempted to catch up. ‘Oh right, I was going to break the vampire news to him tonight. Shit.’

A car pulled into the driveway and Thea cursed under her breath. “No, nowhere in particular. How about I show you my room?”

Roy coughed on a gasp as Thea roughly tugged him into the doorway and up the stairs. She shoved him into her bedroom and locked the door behind them, leaning her forehead against the wood to regain her composure. ‘If I tell him I’m a vampire I could bite him and hide his scent. But I didn’t want to do the whole biting thing when I told him. Do I still want to tell him? Shit, what if someone at the party figures out he’s here. They wouldn’t hurt him, would they. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.’

Thea didn’t realize she was banging her head on the door until it met Roy’s hand. “Thea, what the hell is up with you?” When she looked up at him with wet eyes his face softened and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Hey, whatever it is you can tell me, you know that right?”

Thea nodded and returned the embrace, sniffing into his red hoodie as he kissed her temple. She cleared her throat before stepping back and taking one of his hands in hers. “It’s about my family. What I was going to tell you. But…” She sighed. “It can wait. Right now how ‘bout we get comfortable and watch a movie.”

As the credits rolled on the movie sounds made their way to her room from downstairs. Roy pulled his arm out from under Thea’s head and sat up on her bed, the removal of his warmth against her back making her shiver. “Are your folks having a party?”

Thea sighed but didn’t look up at him. “My mom put together something for my brother’s girlfriend.”

Roy turned and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I thought you said you were close to your brother’s girlfriend.”

Thea nodded. “I am.”

“Then why aren’t you at the party?”

Now Thea turned to look at him, smiling. “I didn’t want to miss out on my time with you.”

One corner of Roy’s lips quirked up. “I wouldn’t have said no to being your date.” As Thea’s face fell he backpedaled. “Or could’ve just seen you tomorrow, I mean, if you don’t want me meeting your family.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Shit, that’s why you were upset I came by, isn’t it? You don’t want them to meet me.” He jumped off the bed and grabbed his shoes.

Thea quickly ran between him and the door, grabbing his elbows. “No! It’s not what you think. It’s what I was going to tell you tonight. About my family. I…There are…dammit…I don’t know why it’s so hard to tell you this. I’ve never hidden from it before, but my brother and his girlfriend went through so much because of what we are, what they are, that I just…I won’t let you get hurt. I need to make sure you’re safe.”

Roy’s brows furrowed. “Thea, you’re not making any sense.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “I know, but please, just give me time to figure this out. Okay? I’ll talk to my brother first, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

The emotions tumbled in Roy’s mind until he saw the tear running down Thea Queen’s cheek. Whatever it was that was bothering her, it was with his best interests in mind. That was going to have to be good enough for now. “Okay.” He nodded.

“Okay?” She smiled, another tear making its way down her cheek.

Roy smiled back. “Yeah, for now. Just don’t cry.” He cupped her cheek and wiped the tears away with his thumb, bringing his lips to hers for a slow, soothing kiss.

As he pulled away his scent spiked and Thea cleared her throat. “You know, that noise from the party could mask anything noisy we decide to do in here.”

Roy’s eyes widened. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

Thea bit her lip, her smile widening. “That depends. Do you think I’m suggesting sex? Because I’m totally suggesting we finally do that.”

Roy choked on his surprise but quickly turned serious. “Are you sure? Because I understand you wanting to wait. I didn’t show up here to pressure you.”

Thea shook her head and laughed. “I’m sure. I would’ve suggested it sooner but we were always in public.”

Roy laughed. “Yeah, what is up with that?”

She leaned forward to capture his lips again, immediately opening them to offer her tongue. They made their way back towards the bed as their hands busied themselves with buttons and zippers, leaving them in only their underwear as they fell back onto the bed. Roy landed on top and immediately began assaulting Thea’s flesh with his mouth. She whimpered with longing as he unsnapped her bra and threw it aside. She arched her back, pushing her breasts into him and clawing at his shoulders as he built up the fire inside her. She bit her own tongue to hold the desire to taste him at bay as he pushed her panties down her thighs and massaged the aching heat between her thighs.

“Condom?” He asked against the skin of her smooth belly.

“Uh, yeah, top drawer of my dresser.”

Roy quickly jumped up to retrieve the small packet and shed his boxers as Thea steadied herself, breathing slowly. ‘You can do this, Queen. No biting.’ As she took in the sight of her naked boyfriend smugly eyeing her as she lay on the bed she wished she had gone with the extra blood bag at lunch.

Considering her options she sat up and curled a finger at him, gesturing for him to rejoin her. As Roy sat on the edge of the bed she pushed him back, allowing him to readjust on the mattress before straddling him.

“Should’ve known you’d want to be in control,” Roy joked.

Thea leaned down to nibble his ear, whispering seductively as she sank down on him, “You have no idea.” She quickly sat up and started to move. In this position she could keep her fangs away from his neck and she took full advantage of it to bring herself to a climax. Temporarily sated she let Roy flip them so he could chase his own release without fear of her accidentally biting him.

As their breathing returned to normal Thea sighed contentedly. Roy’s scent was all over her, mingled with her own. Her smile fell. ‘His smell, mingled with my own.’ Her groan caused her boyfriend to take her hand in his, bringing it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Thea shook her head. “Nothing.” Turning her head to catch his worried gaze she faked a smile. “How about a shower?”

Roy wiggled his eyebrows. “Wow, we’re going zero to sixty with the sex. I like it.”

Thea laughed and hit him with her pillow before jumping and running for the shower.

After a long and satisfying shower they snuggled in Thea’s bed to watch another movie. By the time the credits rolled Roy was yawning. “I should head home,” he said as he got up and started to dress.

Thea noticed that the noise from the party had died down so she nodded and grabbed a t-shirt to put on. “Um, yeah, let me just check…” She didn’t finish as she unlocked her door and peeked out.

Just as she thought it would be clear to get Roy out unseen her brother and Felicity turned the corner into the hall. Thea closed the door quickly. “Shit!”

Roy chuckled. “What? Can’t let me leave after all?”

Thea laughed. “How about we get some sleep and you leave early in the morning?”

Roy dropped his pants and kicked them away instead of buttoning them. “Sounds good to me.”


	3. Secrets spilled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meals with the Queen siblings are always more interesting with Moira, especially when she's keen on meddling in her children's love lives. (Olicity heavy chapter)

After getting up early to make sure Roy got out of the house without being seen, Thea showered again to chase away any remnants of his smell and threw her clothes, sheets, and towels into the washing machine. To avoid suspicion, she simply stayed in the laundry room as the load finished, taking a quick sniff of the wet items before putting them in the dryer.

Feeling that she had been successful in her attempts to rid the mansion of human scent she made her way to the dining room for breakfast. Oliver and Felicity were already seated, obnoxiously focused on each other. Thea couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey, how was the party?” Thea stopped in her tracks when Felicity looked up at her. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

“Felicity…” Oliver whispered, nudging his girlfriend with his elbow before focusing in his sister. “No, Speedy, nothing on your face. The party was, well, interesting.”

Thea smirked and sat on the chair opposite her brother. “The aunts did it, didn’t they?”

Felicity blushed as Oliver snorted.

“Hey, at least Mom hasn’t started in yet...today.”

Felicity covered her face with her hands as Oliver groaned. “She’s not going to do that, Thea.” He turned quickly towards his girlfriend when she huffed out a laugh.

“She kind of already has, Oliver.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

Thea laughed. “Yeah, I had to save her the other day from the grand inquisitor. What was she asking you? Something about whether you had stopped your birth control yet?”

Felicity grimaced. “She asked what I was on and said that if it’s an IUD I should go ahead and have it removed now since we’d probably want babies as soon after the wedding as possible.”

Thea clapped. “That’s what it was!”

Oliver let out a strangled groan and banged his head on the table. “I can’t believe she said that!”

Felicity rubbed his back. “Oh, but she did.” She winked at Thea before continuing. “Don’t worry, I told her we hadn’t discussed any of that yet.”

Oliver’s nose rubbed against the table as he attempted to nod in consent.

“But she said that couldn’t be possible because you already had the ring.”

Thea threw her hand up to her mouth to stop from spitting out the orange juice she was sipping and Oliver quickly raised his head to meet Felicity’s amused gaze.

“Ollie! Did…Is…What?” Thea couldn’t finish her thought and simply watched the couple in front of her, her brother’s mouth opened and closed several times before he tilted his head in question, a pained expression on his face.

Felicity leaned in towards him, cupping his jaw so she could whisper. “It’s okay, she didn’t blow it for you. I found the ring in your sock drawer the day before.” His eyes widened and she gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll be patient for you to find the right time to ask me.”

“Awww.” Thea’s reaction brought them out of the moment and Felicity looked up at the younger Queen with a smile.

“So, speaking of secrets people aren’t supposed to know…” Thea’s face fell at what Felicity had started to say but Moira Queen entered the room before she could finish.

“Good morning. Thea.” She stopped to kiss her daughter on the top of her head before taking the chair beside her at the head of the table. “You missed quite the event last night. The community was completely taken with Felicity.”

Both Queen siblings regained their composure as Moira relived her version of the evening and Raisa set French toast and scrambled eggs on the table, the earlier revelations set aside for the time being.

“That sounds like it was quite the shindig, Mom. I’m sorry I missed it, but I have a new client who is on a tight schedule for getting her new house decorated before her baby’s born. Just so much family drama for her and this is really important to her for…healing…purposes…or her psychiatrist said, anyway. Yeah, so, I’ve been trying to stay on top of it all…for her.” Thea quickly gulped her orange juice to stop from expanding on her lie.

Moira nodded and turned towards Oliver, her smile broadening. “Oliver, dear, have you talked to Felicity about what we discussed the other day?”

Oliver gave his mother a confused look. “About what?”

Moira cleared her throat. “About the item, from the vault. Surely now that she’s been officially introduced you have no reason not to.”

Oliver’s eyes grew wide as Felicity coughed into her napkin. “Mother, you can’t…I…” He sighed heavily. “That was something that should not have been said. It was meant to be special, a surprise and you’ve ruined it. Twice now from what I’ve been told.” He stood and threw his napkin down. “Whatever occurs between me and Felicity is between me and Felicity.”

Felicity tried to grab his hand as he stormed out of the dining room but he moved too quickly. Thea jumped up instead. “I’ll go talk to him.”

She caught her brother on the second floor landing. “Hey, Ollie.”

Oliver shook his head and leaned against the wall. “I can’t believe she did that.”

Thea smirked. “Yeah, well, she meddles. It’s what she does. Speaking of which…”

Oliver looked at his sister, noticing the somber tone. “What’s wrong, Speedy?”

“I need your advice. Your and Felicity’s actually, but I don’t want there to be any chance of mom knowing…yet.”

Oliver nodded. “Sure. You want us to meet you somewhere later?”

Thea smiled. “That’d be great actually. I’ll text you the address around lunch time?”

Before they could say anything else Felicity’s voice sounded up the stairs. “I cannot believe the two of you left me alone with her!”

As the three sat down to lunch Thea bounced her knee nervously. The anxiety in Thea’s body language made Felicity feel bad for her. After the waiter took their orders she leaned over and whispered into Oliver’s ear, “You need to help her along with this. Just tell her you know.”

He nodded and took a sip of his water. “So, Speedy, you said you needed advice.”

The younger Queen nodded but remained silent.

Felicity cleared her throat. “Listen, Thea, if this is about your human boyfriend…” Thea looked up at her with wide eyes so she quickly continued, “It’s okay. Oliver and I only want you to be happy. And safe.” She looked towards Oliver and he nodded.

“Yeah, Speedy, as long you’re safe and happy, that’s all that matters.”

His sister smiled. “I’ve just been so nervous about it. I mean, Mom and the community’s going to be so disappointed in me. And I don’t want Roy to get hurt.”

Oliver took his sister’s hand. “Hey, no one’s going to hurt him. As long as he treats you okay, I won’t let anyone hurt him. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”

Felicity cleared her throat. “Why would the community be disappointed? Oliver was going to be with me when I was still human.”

Thea huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, but Ollie’s never cared what people think. And it’s different for men.”

Oliver nodded. “Unfortunately that’s true. The community still has some old-fashioned ideas about gender roles.”

“Ah.”

“And…” Thea sighed. “And there’s also another thing.” Taking a deep breath she pushed forward. “I haven’t told him about us being vampires yet.”

“That’s why we could smell him.” Oliver added.

“Oh god,” Thea moaned. “I’ve been trying so hard to get rid of his scent. I can’t believe you could still smell him.”

Felicity smiled. “Hey, I didn’t. Your brother’s freaky sensitive nose picked it up.”

Thea’s laugh was cut off by a voice behind her. “Thea?”

Oliver eyed the young man in a red hoodie standing behind his sister, making the intruder gulp. Thea turned around, jumping up from her seat.

“Roy? Hey!” She quickly hugged him and pulled back to look between her boyfriend and brother, who was noticeably trying to reign in his initial protectiveness.

Felicity laughed and smacked Oliver’s shoulder playfully before whispering in his ear, “You’re supposed to be supportive, not menacing.”

“I couldn’t help it,” he replied quietly.

Felicity smiled at Roy. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Roy. I’m Felicity and this is my boyfriend, Thea’s brother Oliver. Why don’t you join us for lunch.”

He smiled and took his girlfriend’s hand in his. “Thanks but I’m actually on my way to work. Some other time though, I’d love to get to know Thea’s family.”

The young couple spun around as a voice interrupted. “Well at least someone gets to spend time with my daughter.”

Moira tilted her head and smiled politely at the young man holding her daughter’s hand. His obviously human scent was somewhat familiar and it struck the Queen matriarch that she had been quite oblivious for some time.

“Mom?” Thea’s voice was higher than usual.

“Thea, dear, I didn’t realize you were meeting Oliver and Felicity for lunch or I would’ve joined you. Who’s your friend?” Moira’s voice was smooth and polite, as if she hadn’t just found out her children had been lying to her.

Roy looked between Thea and her mother before reaching out with his free hand. “Roy Harper, ma’am.”

Moira smiled politely and shook his hand. “Well, Roy, it’s nice to meet you. Have you been friends with my daughter for long?”

“A few weeks, couple of months, something like that.” He cleared his throat and thought harder about it. “Umm, we met, about 3 months ago. At work. Uh, my work.”

Moira’s smile didn’t falter and she remained polite. “Oh, and where would that be?”

“I work at a couple of clubs around town, different jobs at different ones on different nights, but I met Thea at the one Max Fuller opened about 4 months ago. I bartend the early shift there half the week. Speaking of which.” He chuckled softly and turned towards Thea, raising his eyebrows. “I need to hurry or I’ll be late.”

She nodded, a bit breathless from the turn of events. “Yeah, you wouldn’t want that. I’ll call you later.”

He kissed her cheek before waving quickly at Felicity and Oliver. “Nice to meet you all.” And jogged down the street.

Thea wrung her hands together and turned back towards her mother. “So, Mom, what are you up to today?”

“Thea!” Moira said in exasperation. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Thea shrugged. “Tell you what?”

Moira sighed. Turning towards her son she raised her eyebrows, hoping to get an answer from him. He simply shrugged. “It’s her life, Mom. If something’s important she’ll tell us. If not, well, then it’s none of our business.”

“Oliver, taking on a donor is…”

Thea cut her mother off before she could finish the sentence, “Whoa, stop the train to crazy town. I do not have a donor. Roy is not a donor. Roy is a friend, who is completely unaware of any of that…” Thea waved her hand around. “…stuff.”

Moira sighed. “Is that why you didn’t tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Thea, his scent is in our house. You’re dating that boy!”

Thea stomped a foot and groaned. “What does it matter? Why do I need to tell you that? Yes, I like him, a lot! But I don’t want him to get hurt so before you get too attached to whatever lecture you’re about to give me, don’t worry, I’ll end it.”

Felicity gasped and gripped Oliver’s knee, trying to encourage him to say something as the younger Queen reached for her purse.

“Thea, honey, that’s not…Thea! Please.” Moira begged her daughter, who walked off with tears running down her cheeks.


	4. Tell all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Roy react when he finally learns Thea's secret?

Thea lay on her bed surrounded by damp tissues. She had run straight home to contemplate her options but spent the time crying out her frustrations and fears. She sniffled as someone knocked on her bedroom door. Trying to ignore it she shifted on her bed.

“Speedy, it’s Ollie. We had your lunch wrapped up for you. Figured you’d be hungry since Mom also interrupted breakfast.”

Her stomach growled, so after a moment she got up to unlock the door and peek out.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hey. You okay?”

Thea nodded and opened the door enough to take the Styrofoam box from her brother.

“I don’t know what Mom was trying to accomplish today, but you know you don’t need to break up with Roy, right?”

Thea nodded as a fresh hot tear made its way down her cheek.

“Hey,” Oliver cupped her face and wiped away the wetness with his thumb. “Talk to me.”

Thea sniffled. “He’s going to run when he finds out about the vampire thing anyway. So I might as well just let him live a normal life without that baggage of knowing all that exists.”

Oliver sighed and shook his head. “He might not run. Felicity didn’t when she found out. And she should have, I mean, she was terrified of the biting thing at first.”

Thea snorted. “That was because Helena was trying to kill her.”

Oliver smiled. “Or it’s just a natural response when you haven’t grown up in it. If he cares about you, you’ll find a way to deal with it. Just don’t let Mom ruin things for you.”

Thea nodded and sniffled. “Do you think I should tell him about being a donor?”

Her brother sighed and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t know, Thea. If you stay in a relationship with him then biting is going to be something that happens. He should be prepared and you should know you can control yourself. But if he’s just a friend, the donor thing can hang over that friendship in really awkward ways.” Thea nodded, the forlorn look on his sister’s face prompting him to continue, “Hey, you can always have Laurel help with that conversation. Human to human.”

Thea smiled. “Thanks, Ollie.” She waved the Styrofoam container between them. “I’m going to eat my lunch now.”

Oliver nodded and took a step back into the hallway as she shut the door. As she crossed her room with her food she stopped at the mini-fridge to grab a blood bag. If she was going to figure this thing out she’d need a clear head.

As the day wore on Thea found she wasn’t any closer to knowing what to do, but she knew her brother was right. She had friends she could ask for help. After making a few phone calls to set up what she had in mind Thea texted Roy and invited him to the mansion after work. He was quick to reply that he’d be there. ‘Only because he has no idea what he’s getting into,’ she thought to herself.

As the younger Queen sat on the stairs overlooking the foyer she ran through the doubts in her head. She should’ve met him on more neutral territory so he wouldn’t feel trapped. She should be meeting him alone first. She should’ve involved her mother. Thea shook her head. ‘No, definitely no, leaving mom out of this was definitely the right move.’

Her head jerked up when the doorbell rang. She jumped up to run and answer it when Oliver quickly made his way over, holding up his hand in a wait a moment gesture. Thea stopped and took a deep breath, trusting her brother to help her.

Oliver greeted Roy with a friendly smile and a handshake. “Roy! I’m glad you were able to come over. I hope work wasn’t too bad today.”

Roy looked stunned but quickly nodded his head, responding as he dropped Oliver’s hand. “Uh, no, not too bad. I was a little surprised that Thea wanted me to meet her here though.”

Oliver chuckled politely, years of practice at controlling his social responses coming in handy. “Yeah, well, our mother interrupted a discussion my sister needed to have with us so she decided to just get everyone together now and get it out of the way.”

Roy’s confusion made Thea bite her lip nervously. Oliver clapped the younger man on the shoulder and turned him towards her. When he realized she was there the tension in his body eased, making the smile on Oliver’s face genuine.

“Speedy, I’ll go let everyone know that you two are on your way in.”

Thea nodded at her brother as he left the foyer. She gave Roy a little wave. “Hey.”

Roy huffed out a laugh. “Thea, what’s going on?” When he saw the puffiness around her eyes and the nervous way she wrung her hands he took a step towards her and reached for her arm. “Is everything okay?”

She shook her head before closing her eyes and sighing. When she opened them his concern made her smile. “It will be. I just need to tell you something, something really really big, and I am too chicken to do it myself. So I asked my family to help me since it sort of involves them anyway.” When he nodded she took one of his hands and pulled him towards the sitting room. “Come on.”

The sitting room was quiet as Roy and Thea stepped in. Roy recognized Oliver and Felicity who were sitting together on a loveseat but no one else, and Mrs. Queen was noticeably absent. As the young couple stood in the doorway Tommy Merlyn cleared his throat and gestured towards them. “So uh, Speedy, are you going to introduce us?”

His girlfriend sitting beside him patted his knee and gave Roy a sincere toothy smile. “Don’t mind him, he’s impatient. This is Tommy Merlyn, he grew up with Oliver and Thea.”

“Practically my brother,” Thea added.

“Probably am your brother,” Tommy huffed out, earning a choked chuckle from Oliver and a smack on the arm from his girlfriend, who continued to glare at him as she talked.

“And I’m Laurel Lance. I’ve been dating this misfit since we were teenagers.” Turning to the blonde sitting on her other side she continued, “And this is my sister Sara.”

A gruff older man who had been leaning against the mantle stepped forward. “And I’m her dad, you can just call me Detective, or Lance.” He sighed and gave Thea an encouraging smile. “I know you don’t know yet what this is all about, but I promise that as bad as it might seem at first, you’re safe. This little girl here really cares about you, and we care about her.”

Roy squeezed Thea’s hand and gave the man a quick nod.

Silence permeated the room as the group looked at Thea for an idea of what she wanted to do next. Felicity cleared her throat and leaned forward from her spot at Oliver’s side. “Thea, why don’t you and Roy take a seat and we can move along to the other introductions.”

When Roy raised an eyebrow Felicity gave them a tightlipped smile. Thea pulled her boyfriend towards the other loveseat, leaving Detective Lance at their backs. As the silence continued the younger Queen gave her brother and Felicity a pleading look.

Oliver finally spoke up, “Thea, this is your secret to tell. You start, and we’ll pick up the thread.”

She wiped away a tear and gripped Roy’s hand tighter. “Roy, I…” her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “This is going to be so weird for you. And I’m so sorry, but I was born this way and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Detective Lance placed a hand on Thea’s shoulder, giving her a small smile when she looked up at him. “Son, what she’s trying to tell you is that the world is a much different place than many humans realize. And you’ve stumbled right into it. But, luckily for you, the Queens are a good part of that world.”

Before he could continue Roy caught the glisten of light off Thea’s teeth. With her anxiety and nervousness, her fangs had descended involuntarily, the light from the fireplace reflecting off them. He let her hand go and jumped back, the armrest digging into his back. Thea looked at him in confusion until she felt the fangs with her bottom lip. She clapped her hand over her mouth and jumped up. “Oh god, that’s not how I meant to show you.” She sobbed and ran from the room.

“Thea!” Oliver jumped up to run after his sister but Felicity grabbed his arm shaking her head as he looked to see why she had stopped him.

“She needs to work through this, Oliver.”

To Roy’s credit he was still seated on the couch, though eyeing the occupants of the room skeptically.

Lance sighed. “Don’t worry, I’m a human. So’s Laurel. You’re not alone.”

Roy relaxed slightly. “So that means not everyone here is?”

Sara smiled, speaking up for the first time. “I used to be.”

Felicity snorted. “Yeah me, too.” Then she scrunched her nose. “Or at least I thought I was.”

Oliver smiled and took her hand, kissing her knuckles. “You were something different altogether.”

“Aww,” Laurel and Sara said in unison as Tommy made gagging noises.

Roy chuckled a bit at the normalcy. Shaking his head he spoke up again, “Did I really just see what I think I did?”

Tommy shrugged. “What did you see?”

“Thea has fangs,” Roy practically whispered, hoping he wasn’t crazy.

Tommy smiled. “Yep, you definitely saw that. She’s a vampire. Her brother’s a vampire. I’m a vampire. Because our parents are vampires. Sara here is a, well, technically a vampire, but she wasn’t born one so it’s a little different.”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Thea just wanted to tell you who she is, about the bigger world her family’s a part of. Our mom doesn’t hide it and to meet her without knowing this…”

Roy nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

Looking around the room his eyes fell on Felicity. “You told me what all of you are except her.”

The blonde in question fidgeted. “I thought I was human, but turns out my dad was an immortal, so when an evil vampire tried to turn me, like Sara, it actually made me, well, different. I’m not really a vampire, though I have fangs, but not really a human either. And we think I may be immortal, but I really don’t think we can say that with certainty until like, I don’t know, a couple hundred years pass and I’m still here…rambling…like an idiot.”

Various snickers and chuckles sounded around the room. Even Roy had to smile. “Wow.” He rubbed his face with his hand. “I could not have imagined this is what my night would be. Hanging out with my vampire girlfriend’s vampire, immortal, human family.”

Another round of chuckles relaxed the room further.

As Roy stood Oliver did as well so the young man turned to address him. “Do you think Thea went to her room? I want to talk to her.”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, I’ll help you find her.”

Thea was in the treehouse she sought refuge in as a little girl. The peaceful night contrasted her inner turmoil and the sobs that wracked her body. The look on Roy’s face at the sight of her fangs echoed in her mind. Convinced that she had ruined everything she felt the only thing she could do was hide.

The sound of someone coming up the ladder made her throw her head back and sigh. “I’m not in the mood for your philosophizing, Ollie. We can talk about my massive heartbreak tomorrow after I’ve worn myself out.”

“Massive heartbreak, huh?”

Roy’s voice startled her and she turned towards the trapdoor in the floor to see him smiling at her.

“Roy? I…I thought you’d be on your way home.”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. “Now why would I do that when I’ve got an amazing girlfriend who’s desperately in love with me hiding herself in a private treehouse where no one can hear us?”

Thea snorted. “Really? You’re thinking about sex? Now?”

Roy chuckled. “No, I was thinking that I miss your smile. I thought that might work.” He took a seat next to her and nudged her shoulder with his. “Hey, talk to me.”

Thea sighed. “Aren’t you scared of me?”

Roy took one of her hands in his. “No.”

She turned to catch his gaze. “Even though I’m a vampire?”

Roy smiled. “Even though you have a whole family of vampires, humans, and one blonde immortal.”

Thea smiled. “She’s a hoot, isn’t she?”

Roy laughed. “Yeah. And I’m glad you let me meet them.” He used his free hand to push a strand of hair off Thea’s forehead and cupped her face. “I’m sorry it stressed you out to have to tell me, but I’m glad you did.”

“Really?”

He nodded, his face turning serious. “I want to know everything about the woman I love.”

Thea’s breath caught in her throat. As they held each other’s gaze her lips curled up, letting a giggle escape. “You love me?”

Roy smiled and nodded, moving his face towards hers. “So no massive heartbreak today, sorry.”

“Too bad, I hear makeup sex is the best,” she whispered against his lips

Roy snorted. “Oh, I’ll show you the best!” And took her lips with his.

Oliver was still standing under the treehouse, just in case his sister needed him, when he caught their spiked scents. “That’s my cue to leave,” he said to himself as he made his way back to the mansion thinking about anything that would get his mind off the fact that his baby sister was currently having sex in his and Tommy’s treehouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this particular fic but not all there is for Roy and Thea in this universe! They are part of the next fic in this series, which is tentatively named To Rule the Kingdom. It picks up after Love Bites, and this story is a wraparound of the last chapter of Love Bites. And as you know if you've read the first chapter of Time Marches On, these two crazy kids have a whole life ahead of them.


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